Big Trees

The new print edition of Big Trees of Delaware contains full-color photographs of the biggest trees of each species in Delaware as well illustrations of leaf shapes to help readers better identify trees as they travel throughout the First State.

Publication of the book was made possible by a grant from the U.S. Forest Service Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry’s Urban and Community Forestry Program!

Conifers belong to the group of trees classified as gymnosperms, which are cone-bearing seed plants. Most conifers are trees but there are also a small number of shrubs. Conifers include cedars, cypresses, firs, junipers, kauri, larches, pines, hemlocks, redwoods, spruces, and yews. While many conifers are evergreen, a few are deciduous, meaning they lose their …

Hardwood trees differ from conifers (softwoods) in several important ways. Hardwood trees belong to a class of trees known as angiosperms, which means they produce seeds with some type of outside covering. This might be a fruit, such as a pear or an apple, or a nut with a hard casing such as an acorn …

Each of the following tree species meet one of the following criteria: 1. They usually occur as shrubs in our native forest but very rarely will achieve tree size. 2. They are non-native but not invasive, and are sometimes reported to the Delaware Forest Service. 3. They are unusual species with only one …